Former Nigerian President Visits A Breakaway Region in Somalia

The former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo has on Sunday landed in Somaliland in a surprise visit to the breakaway region in Northern Somalia, Garowe Online reports.

Obasanjo, along with a delegation from Johannesburg-based think-tank Brenthurst Foundation arrived in Hargeisa City at the invitation of the region’s president, Muse Bihi Abdi, according to the presidency.

The visiting former West Africa country president held a meeting with Somaliland’s top leaders, including Vice President and Ministers at the state presidential palace and discussed a number of key issues.

At first, President Abdi thanked former Nigeria President Olusegun Obasanjo and the delegations from the Brenthurst foundation for the visit to his self-declared republic of Somaliland.

Obasanjo serves as Nigeria president between 1999-2007.

Sources privy to the talks said that Somaliland President Bihi asked Obasanjo to lobby for his breakaway region in getting recognition from the African Union as an independent country.

Nigeria plays a role in the international efforts to stabilise Somalia as it contributed to hundreds of police officers to Police in the African Union Mission (AMISOM).

Somaliland declared its independence from Somalia on May 18th 1991. Twenty-eight years on it still has not received legal recognition from the international community.

This article was originally published on Garowe Online..